Addressing the ‘Ujjwal Bharat Ujjwal Bhavishya – Power @2047’ programme virtually, the prime minister also asked states to clear their dues to power generation companies, which amount to over ₹1trillion.
“The ministry of power’s flagship revamped distribution sector scheme is aimed at improving the operational efficiencies and financial sustainability of the discoms and power departments. With an outlay of over ₹3 trillion over a period of five years from FY 2021-22 to FY 2025-26, the scheme aims to provide financial assistance to discoms for modernization and strengthening of distribution infrastructure, focussing on the improvement of the reliability and quality of supply to end consumers," said a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.
The scheme also aims to reduce the AT&C (aggregate technical and commercial) losses to pan-India levels of 12-15% and the ACS-ARR (average cost of supply-average revenue realized) gap to zero by 2024-25 by improving the operational efficiencies and financial sustainability of all state-sector discoms and power departments.
Speaking of the financial stress in the power distribution sector in India, Modi said that the losses of Indian discoms are at double digits which in developed countries they are in single digit. “This means that we have a lot of wastage of electricity and therefore we have to generate more electricity than we need to meet the demand for electricity," he said.
Modi said there is a lack of investment in reducing distribution and transmission losses in many states. He also noted that Power distribution companies are owed more than ₹60 thousand crore from many government departments, and local bodies. He said that these companies are not able to get even the money that has been committed for subsidy on electricity in different states on time and in full.
“This arrear is also more than ₹75,000 crore. Those responsible for activities ranging from the generation of electricity to the door-to-door delivery, their about two and a half lakh crore rupees are trapped."
During the programme, he also laid the foundation stone of various green energy projects of NTPC along with launching the national solar rooftop portal.
Addressing the gathering, the prime minister said energy and power sectors have a huge role to play in accelerating India’s progress in the next 25 years. The strength of the energy sector is also important for ease of doing business and is equally important for ease of living. He said that the projects launched today are significant steps in the direction of green energy and energy security for the county. These projects will strengthen India’s renewable energy goals, commitment and aspirations of its green mobility, he said.
Modi announced that work on two big green hydrogen projects in Ladakh and Gujarat has started. The plant being set up in Ladakh will produce green hydrogen for vehicles in the country. This will be the first project in the country which will make commercial use of green hydrogen-based transport possible.
“Ladakh very soon will be the first place in the country where fuel cell electric vehicles will start to ply. This will help in making Ladakh a carbon-neutral region," he said.
The prime minister also informed that after blending ethanol in petrol and aviation fuel, now the country is moving towards blending green hydrogen in piped natural gas pipelines, which will reduce import dependence on natural gas.
Modi said tat in the last eight years, about 1,70,000 MW of electricity generation capacity has been added in the country. ‘One Nation One Power Grid’ has become the strength of the country, he said, adding that about 1,70,000 circuit kilometre transmission lines have been laid to connect the entire country.
The prime minister said: “We had resolved to create 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by the completion of 75 years of independence. Today we have come close to this goal. So far, about 170 GW capacity has been installed from non-fossil sources."
He said that India is in the top 4-5 countries of the world in terms of installed solar capacity and many of the world’s largest solar power plants are in India currently.
Modi further said that along with increasing the production of electricity, the emphasis of the government is also on saving electricity. “Saving electricity means enriching the future. PM Kusum Yojana is a great example of this. We are providing solar pump facility to farmers, helping to install solar panels on the side of the fields", he said.
The prime minister said that the UJALA scheme has also played a big role in reducing electricity consumption and bills in the country. Every year 50 thousand crore rupees are saved from the electricity bills of poor and middle-class households.
